Hello all,
I have not been around in a while because I was getting more confident that my twitching was BFS related. I am a dad of a 3 year old and a 6 month old, and I thougt I was getting my life back until a new hot spot started.
This new hot spot is the muscle below my thumb on my palm. What scares me is that after 2 years of twitchig, these are the first that are very hard to see, and very rapid. I am used to getting the obvious twitches you can feel. These new ones are very hard to see, very tiny, and seem to be constant. They feel like a very, very, faint buzz, as opposed to an obvious-to-feel spasm.
Background - I am a 40 year old man, my twitching started about two years ago, September 2002, in my calves. Eventually in December 2002 (one year and 10 months ago) my hands, on the top side started. After that it was a free for all. Even my chin twitched for seven months then stopped. I have no obvious weakness. I lift weights and run hard. I am one of those who is CONSTANTLY looking at my body and listening to my speech to see if I'm coming down with ALS. I am a hypochondriac, but the type who is afraid to go to the doctor, not the type who goes too often, so I have never gone for a test. (and at this point I can't)
My questions are:
1. had anybody experienced these very faint, hard to see, hard to feel twitches?
2. Regardless, after a year and ten months of twitching in my hands, and slightly over two years of twitching over all, with no weakness, can I put my ALS fears to bed?
Thanks so much, and God Bless,
Nick

Thanks TwitchKid...
it's not my pulse......these are like a "fluttering" under my skin, in that part of the palm below the thumb. I'm scared because after two years of twitching, I never had this type of twitching.

I get this occasionally too. I get the big thumb jerks but yeah I get the little flutters too at the base of my thumb. Is it worse when you have been lifting your weights as gripping stuff seems to set a lot of these thumb jerks off.

Am new to board but from what I have read so far you can basically rule out ALS after this length of time hun, plus don't think you would be able to still lift your weights

Try not too worry too much, I know it's hard not too, I am one of the worlds biggest worry warts and over the years have convinced myself have got every disease know to man. From my experience stress and worrying makes your twitches worse. If adrenalin is supposed to play a part in symptoms it would be interesting to know if your symptoms were worse after exercising, I used to go dancing and they were always worse after I had finished as was nerve wracking

Hi Jo,
Thanks for replying Yes, my twitching is definitely increased after working out. When I lift weights, my hands get more twitchy. When I run my calves and legs get more twitchy, when I play hockey, my whole body gets more twitchy Thanks!
Nick

Yes, I get that too - if you look at my previous couple of posts I was worried when my thumb began to jump after gripping anything (after 8 years of the twitches). This has now gone (thanks to those who wrote & helped put my mind at rest), but the micro-twitches you describe remain.

You HAVEN'T got ALS after all this time. Like you i am very fit, exercise frequently & hard etc (am 45), but this doesn't affect my frequency or magnitude of twitching - in fact, unlike most members of this forum, I can't think of anything which DOES exacerbate them - they are just always there to varying degrees.

Two years and no definite signs of weakness? It isn't ALS. But I understand your anxiety - it took me four or five years to stop worrying about it.

I'm like johnta as far as things making them come and go - I think it's random. I think the apparent increase in frequency and/or intensity after exercise is a secondary effect - i.e. because the muscles are fatigued or toned through exercise the twiching is just more noticeable (or noticable at all).

I had this type of twitch just last week -- in my ankle! I've also had thumb pad twitches as well, which scared me. But it went away. My neuro told me not to worry after 6 months with no weakness, so I can only imagine you are safer than safe! Besides, I am 43, and he told me I was basically too young! You have many things going for you. Not everyone sees a doctor. I did see one, but refused the EMG. (It was optional anyway.)

Thanks Spreg for the reply....very assuring and comforting information. This stuff can hang over you like a dark cloud. I sometimes look at my young daughters and think how wonderful it would be to focus on them without this fear always hanging over me.
God Bless,
Nick

I know this reply is a little late, but I am new here and when searching the forums I try to reply to some topic that I have experience in. This is one. Their is no doubt that this type of twitching sensation is common to BFS. I have been twitching for ten years now. It seems that this type of sensation seems to be deeper and more of a buzzing type of twitching. making it most of the time impossible to see. my experience is that this type of twitching will subside,usually within a couple of days but can last longer. but they can also reappear in other areas of the body at any time. but as I said this is common with our condition.One other thing. Sometimes they seem to repeat themselves at exact intervals(say every 5 seconds or so) this seems strange, but then again so is this entire unnerving disorder